


It's Nice to Have a Friend(sgiving)

by mundane_blues



Series: The Loververse [2]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Cooking, Gen, Grocery Shopping, Nahyuck have the biggest chaotic energy in this fic LMAO, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Dinner, Underage Drinking, in their apartment and they invite people over for Friendsgiving..., set during Mark and 00 Line's first semester living together, that goes exactly how you think it sounds, yeah this is an...adventure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21602752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mundane_blues/pseuds/mundane_blues
Summary: Jeno walks up the stairs to their apartment, arms and legs sore after spending the past hour and a half at the gym with Yeeun. He hears loud muffled voices talking through the apartment door. Intrigued, he pauses the Maroon 5 song on shuffle, takes out his earphones, and unlocks the door, only to find Donghyuck carrying a turkey over his head, Renjun chasing after him, and Jaemin batting him away with a wooden spoon.“I am not letting you guys put the turkey in our shower!” Renjun shouts. “That is so unsanitary!”
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Na Jaemin
Series: The Loververse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1556896
Comments: 11
Kudos: 59





	It's Nice to Have a Friend(sgiving)

**Author's Note:**

> Just making it barely on time for Thanksgiving but better late than never! Or on the day after Thanksgiving ahaha. Here's the Thanksgiving one-shot special set in the same universe as the main fic in this universe, [Lover!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21222224/chapters/50525738)
> 
> Just a few notes:
> 
> The 00 Line are tagged as a ship but there's not any actual romantic plot to read into here, but it's tagged because they are the main characters/driving force in this story. In terms of actual interactions, Nahyuck are tagged because their chaotic, imbalanced energy is what mainly propels this fic and keeps it moving, hehe.
> 
> I unfortunately didn't have time to edit this (I haven't even read this over in totality LMAO, a lot of the parts were written all out of order) so I don't know how smooth/consistent it is, but I hope that even if there are pacing/grammar/tone issues, you enjoy it overall! Hope this one-shot serves as a nice break from Chapter 5 of Lover :)

_2 weeks before Thanksgiving_

“Hey, so what are you doing for Thanksgiving this year?” Jaemin asks Jeno. “Y’know, are you and Donghyuck gonna just chill in the apartment for Thanksgiving?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Jeno shrugs. “It’s not like we’re planning on doing anything. We celebrate Chuseok, not uh..well I guess technically Chuseok is like Thanksgiving in Korea but you know what I mean, we don’t celebrate the American one.”

“Right.” Jaemin nods his head.

“So, yeah, I guess we’re gonna have a chill five-day mini-break? I dunno, we’ll probably just watch some movies and eat takeout and instant ramen.”

“You didn’t find it lonely last year, did you?”

“Nah,” Jeno shakes his head. “I mean, yeah, I guess it was a bit weird that most people in our dorm building were gone, but hey, at least we’re in our own apartment now. Definitely won’t feel as bad since this place is much cozier than the dorms.”

The apartment door unlocks and Renjun comes through and storms inside, with extra emphasis on his stomps probably to convey anger, but Jaemin just thinks it’s absolutely adorable.

“I cannot believe them!" Renjun says angrily. “I cannot believe that they did that!”

Jeno and Jaemin give each other a funny look.

“Well, yeah!” Jaemin says aloud in pretend agreement. “Ya know, it’s just so horrible that they took Nemo from his dad like that, it’s almost as if the entire movie hinged on that very plot point!”

“Oh shut up, Jaemin,” Renjun retorts bluntly, “I’m actually seriously pissed right now.”

“Oh no, that doesn’t sound good,” Jeno says sympathetically.

“What happened? Did you get in a fight with your parents again–”

“You know, it’s just so, _so_ selfish that they’re going on a vacation to New York just to see my older brother,” Renjun opens the fridge angrily as he takes out a bottle of green tea.

“Yep, definitely the parents,” Jeno remarks sagely.

“I mean, it’s just to visit him at _Columbia_ because he’s getting his _Masters_ , as if me and Kun don’t even matter? I mean, really, what’s so great about Zhou Mi anyways, huh?”

“Uh, maybe the fact that he’s getting his Masters from Columbia?” Jaemin replies rhetorically.

“And on top of that, they’re going during Thanksgiving because apparently,” Renjun says as he fills a mug that says _bad puns that’s how eye roll_ with his green tea, “that’s like, the _only_ time they can see him. As if they don’t have the other fifty one Thursdays of the year to go visit.”

“So, I’m guessing they’re going during Thanksgiving, then?” Jeno asks.

“Yes! And now what? It’s not like I have any plans for Thanksgiving,” Renjun grumbles, taking a sip of his tea before making a grimace. “Ugh, is this unsweetened tea?”

“Yes?”

“Why would you buy unsweetened?”

“Because that’s the one everyone else likes to drink?” Jeno looks at Renjun puzzledly.

“Well, yeah, anyways, I don’t have any plans, and now I’m pissed, because I’m just gonna be stuck in the apartment this Thanksgiving like a loser while everyone else is off having a frickin’ feast,” Renjun grumbles. “I was so looking forward to all the food and now I’ll just be making some instant ramen for Thanksgiving food instead.”

Then Renjun starts ranting in Chinese, which he seems to have forgotten neither Jeno nor Jaemin understand, and so they only nod their heads empathetically as he’s speaking.

Seeing Renjun all upset about Thanksgiving and seeing how he was just talking with Jeno about Thanksgiving has got the wires in Jaemin’s brain whirring. Before he knows it, he has an absolutely crazy thought. In fact, if an imaginary light bulb had immediately appeared and lit up right above Jaemin’s head, it still would not have encapsulated the sheer ridiculousness of the thought he’s just had and is about to tell them.

“Let’s have Thanksgiving here!” Jaemin exclaims brightly as he interrupts Renjun’s venting.

Jeno and Renjun both turn to look at Jaemin with suspicious eyebrows and disbelief. “What?” they both say in unison.

“Let’s have Thanksgiving in the apartment this year!” Jaemin says excitedly, now jumping out of his seat and pacing around the kitchen table. “Come on, that’s already going to be four of you in the apartment this Thanksgiving, and I can just tell my parents I don’t want to drive home for Thanksgiving, so we can just have a Thanksgiving feast here instead! We can invite people and everything! It’ll be–”

“No, don’t say it, don’t say it–”

“Friendsgiving!” Jaemin shouts happily. “Oh my god, let’s have Friendsgiving!”

Renjun groans loudly. “Oh come on, you know it’s not gonna work. Remember the last time we tried having Friendsgiving? In high school? That was a complete disaster!”

“Hey, it was _not_ my fault that the bacon caught on fire–”

“Jaemin, no! No! We’re not doing Friendsgiving,” Renjun retorts. “I do not want to relive senior year of high school all over again.”

“Jeno, JenJen, Jeno Lee,” Jaemin turns towards Jeno with wide puppy eyes and a Golden Age Hollywood smile, “don’t you want to just have a Thanksgiving where you just eat delicious food and have a fun time with your friends and just have a proper Thanksgiving?”

“Well...I mean, it doesn’t sound that bad?” Jeno says timidly, nervous at how horrified Renjun looks at the fact that he said that.

“Jeno,” Renjun grabs his wrists and pulls him away from Jaemin’s influence, “Listen to me. You’ve never had to go along with one of Jaemin’s ridiculous schemes before.”  
“What about our whole backup deal?” Jeno asks innocently. “Isn’t that one of his schemes?”

“Oh, you poor, innocent little boy,” Renjun says almost sweetly, if not for the fact that he actually means it seriously. “You think that’s a scheme? That’s a contingency plan. No, this is going to be an absolute mess. Jaemin’s plans never go to plan, they never work like they’re supposed to, and someone always ends up drinking too much and confessing to doing something stupid.”

“Jeno, JenJen, Jeno my first and last love,” Jaemin croons sweetly as he shoves Renjun off of Jeno, “you want to have food, right? And think, a day where the five of us get to cook and hang out? And we get to have people over? We can invite people over? We can all play...Zimzalabim?”

Jeno’s eyes light up at that. “We’d have enough people to play a game of Zimzalabim?”

“No, Jeno, don’t fall for it, don’t fall for it, no one likes playing Zimzalabim, everyone likes playing Mafia,” Renjun tries as he scrambles up from the floor. “Don’t say yes, don’t make the deal, don’t do it…”

“Imagine, playing Zimzalabim, and being on the team...with _Donghyuck_ ,” Jaemin whispers sultrily into Jeno’s ears.

* * *

_1 week before Friendsgiving_

“Alright losers, what are we making for Thanksgiving?” Donghyuck asks the four of them. Mark, Jeno and Renjun are lounging about on the couch, Jaemin’s taken up the armchair, and Donghyuck is sitting criss cross applesauce on said living room table.

“Well, obviously, there has to be a turkey,” Jaemin says. “It’s not Thanksgiving if there’s not a turkey on the table.”

  
“Okay but Jaemin, we don’t really have the money to you know, buy a turkey for everyone?” Renjun says.

“Oh yes we do, because I still read the paper,” Jaemin says as he plops the newspaper into Donghyuck’s lap, “and there’s still ads that the grocery stores around here put in, and guess what? Whole Foods has a special on their turkeys!”

  
“Whole Foods?” Mark repeats. “Isn’t that super expensive though?”

“You act as if you don’t pay for international tuition and used your parent’s frequent flyer miles to go to Portland for Veteran’s Day Weekend with Yeri and Yukhei,” Jaemin simply retorts back. “Stop acting like you guys are stingy, three of you are literally rich international students.”

“Okay, fine, fair point,” Mark nods his head. “We’ll get turkey. What else is a part of American Thanksgiving?”

“I remember that there were always mashed potatoes in the movies I watched,” Jeno notes. “And gravy to go with the mashed potatoes.”

“We also need the cranberry sauce, stuffing, brussel sprouts, and of course pumpkin pie!” Jaemin adds excitedly.

All three of the literally rich international students all turn to look at Jaemin with blank stares.

“Cranberry sauce?” Jeno asks.

“What is the stuffing? We stuff something? The brussel sprouts?” Mark says with a befuddled expression.

“I don’t like brussel sprouts, that’s a hard no from me,” Donghyuck states firmly.

“Is there going to be like, anything we actually eat at the table?” Jeno asks.

“Yeah, like, can we have Korean food or is it just gonna be American stuff?” Mark says.

“Whoa whoa whoa, why only Korean food? If we’re making Korean food then we get to make Chinese food too,” Renjun says.

“No one said anything about Korean or Chinese food,” Jaemin crosses his arms. “We’re doing an American Thanksgiving, guys. No food you could eat at Chuseok or Lunar New Year or whatever. We’re gonna go super traditional with this one.”

“Oh okay, so then our Thanksgiving also needs some smallpox, syphilis, and white colonialism on the side, right?” Renjun questions sarcastically.

“Aren’t those all STDs?” Mark asks.

“No, only...well...actually, yes, technically, all three of those are diseases,” Jaemin ponders aloud. “And probably can be sexually transmitted, I guess...anyways, we’re getting off track here. What I’m trying to say is that we should just try eating food we don’t normally eat, since it’s Thanksgiving, you know?”

“Uh, but we should also be eating food we’ll at least know we’ll like, right?” Donghyuck says. “I mean, who likes cranberry sauce?”

“Seriously. He has a point,” Renjun agrees. “I have never heard of anyone actually enjoying that.”

“I know but like, what if one of us actually ends up enjoying it, you know?” Jaemin replies. “You don’t know until you try it.”

“Funny, that’s probably exactly what the pilgrims told the Indians about taking their bubonic plagued blankets,” Renjun snarks in return.

“Oh come on, you guys. I mean, you tricked Mark into thinking ketchup was actually good that one time with the cinnamon buns,what makes you think this could be any worse than that?” Jaemin remarks.

“Can we _please_ drop that,” Mark groans. “That was literally one time.”

“Yeah, and unlike Mark, not all of us are idiots,” Donghyuck comments.

* * *

_3 days before Friendsgiving_

“Hey, Mark, how ya feeling, bud?” Jaemin asks sympathetically as Mark hacks up some more phlegm into a tissue.

“Nnnnngghhhh,” Mark only groans in response. “I fee’ like I’m gon’ to die.”

Mark had recently gotten sick over the weekend, and it didn’t look like he was going to be feeling any better anytime soon. Unfortunately, that put a wrench in their Thanksgiving plans, since they were now one man down, and were preparing dinner for thirteen people for Friendsgiving.

“Twelve people,” Jeno comments. “Hyunjin’s not coming.”

“What? Why?” asks Renjun.

“She’s doing something with her sorority sisters instead,” Jeno replies. “I think they’re going to Santa Monica or something, with the same girls Jungeun is going with. Something about visiting this place out there called Odd Eye? I dunno.”

“Eh her loss,” Jaemin shrugs.

“Man, Mark, it sucks that you got sick three days before Thanksgiving,” Donghyuck says as he keeps playing Overwatch at his desk. “DIE, DIE, DIE!”

“He’s not talking to you, he’s talking to whoever he’s playing with online,” Jeno notes.

“I wish I coul’ jus’ die though,” Mark whines. “I feel like shit.”

“Have you been drinking the chicken noodle soup I brought?” Renjun asks. “I asked Kun to make it specifically for you, that stuff should get you back on your feet in time for Thanksgiving.”

“I have, thank you, tell your Kun I ‘eally appreciaaaaaooowww, my arm hurts,” Mark groans. “I just...ACHOO!”

They all recoil back and jump off the bed in response.

“Cover when you sneeze, dude!” Jaemin says incredulously. “Seriously, we don’t all wanna be sick for Thanksgiving. You could be contagious or something.”

“I know, ‘m sorry,” Mark mumbles. “It sucks, I wanted to help w’ Thanksgivin’.”

“Well...to be fair, this is probably for the best, since you would burn down our kitchen if you tried cooking,” Renjun says.

Mark only groans in response before wincing in pain because his ears start ringing afterwards.

* * *

_52 hours before Friendsgiving_

“Alright, come on people! We don’t have all day to spend in here,” Renjun shouts down the aisle. “We gotta get all our groceries soon, need to give the turkey some time to thaw to raw!”

“Why does that sound like the name of a really bad porno?” Donghyuck asks.

“Alright, alright, enough,” Jaemin waves a hand dismissively. “Donghyuck, let’s go find that turkey. Renjun, go get the celery. Jeno, be a dear and get us some rosé, okay?”

“Wait, where’s celery on the grocery list? We’re buying celery?” Jeno asks confusedly as he looks over the paper list Renjun printed again.

“Apparently while you’re illegally getting us rosé,” Renjun deadpans. “Jaemin, none of us are even over twenty-one. We can’t buy alcohol.”

“Uh, that’s why we have fakes,” Jaemin takes his fake ID out of his wallet as if this is obvious.

“We use those to get into clubs, not to buy booze,” Donghyuck fires back.

“Wait, you guys have fakes? What clubs are you going to?” Jeno asks.

“The after school club with the penguin avatars that exist on the Internet,” Donghyuck replies sarcastically.

“What? Club Penguin?”

“No, Club Med.”

“Hold on, lemme text Kun and Ten to bring some booze,” Renjun says as he beings typing rapidly on his phone. He looks back up at the three of them. “Well, what are the three of you still doing in the canned vegetables aisle? Go get the rest of the stuff on the list!” and shoos them off.

Jaemin grabs Donghyuck by the wrist and they go off to the meat section, while Jeno takes the shopping cart to the produce aisle. “Hey, hey, you know I don’t like being manhandled by you,” Donghyuck snaps as he hits Jaemin’s wrist and shakes loose of his grip. “Keep your hands to yourself, thank you very much.”

“You’re such a drama queen sometimes, Hyuck,” Jaemin replies brazenly. 

“Uh-huh, okay, I’m a drama queen,” Donghyuck says. “Pot, meet kettle!”

“Are you calling me a drama queen?”

“You were a theatre kid in high school, calling you a drama queen would be an understatement.”

“Hey! It was a cutthroat world out there, you had to kill or be–”

“So anyways, the turkey?” Donghyuck gestures to the variety of turkeys out on display. “How many kilos should it be?”

“Uh...I don’t know, maybe like, twenty pounds?” Jaemin shrugs.

“What is that in kilos?”

“I dunno, I’m not a calculator. Just look it up.”

“Okay, the number in pounds or kilos or whatever doesn’t matter, just, is that enough for twelve people?”

“Uh...let me look it up,” Jaemin takes his phone out of his pocket to search for the answer. “Ah hah, it says one pound per person so twenty pounds is definitely more than...wait...hold on…”

“What is it?”

  
“Should we get organic or commercial? And do we get frozen or fresh?” Jaemin asks nervously.

“Uhh...I don’t know?”

“Well, this article I’m reading is talking about the pros and cons and I dunno, which one do we choose?”

“How would I know? I’ve literally never had a turkey before,” Donghyuck replies. “I guess...organic? And fresh? Because it...sounds healthier?”

“Do we have the budget for that?”

“It’s literally just three dollars more per pound, so in the end that’s...forty-five dollars more? If we got the organic one, since we’re getting a fifteen pound bird,” Donghyuck says.

“What? I thought we were getting a twenty pound bird?”

“You just said it’s one pound per person, and the only people who are gonna eat extra are you, Renjun, maybe Kun, and Ten because he’s greedy like that,” Donghyuck says. 

“I don’t know about Ten though, he’s going on a vegetarian cleanse, or something like that, or so I've heard,” Jaemin tells him.

“What? Since when?” 

“Since another one of his influencer friends convinced him to do it? Her name was Lisa or something, I dunno–”

“Okay, fine, whatever, fifteen pound bird, the extra forty-five dollars we spend is what we make up for when we ask everyone to pay us an extra three bucks for the food,” Donghyuck replies.

“Sounds good.”

_Meanwhile…_

“Hey, what potatoes do we use?” Jeno asks.

“The Yukon Gold ones,” Renjun replies. “Those always work, guaranteed.”

“Okay, cool! How many?” 

“I think one and a half per person should be good so...that’s–”

“Twenty two and a half, so twenty-three potatoes?” Jeno says.

Renjun smiles. “See, this is why you’re an engineering major, and I’m not!”

Jeno sheepishly grins back at him.

_Five minutes later…_

“We are _not_ making our own gravy,” Donghyuck crosses his arms.

“Whyyyy,” Jaemin whines. “It would go so good if we made our own, with the turkey bones and everything, and I saw this cool tutorial video on YouTube on how to make your own stock for it and it’ll have so much depth and it’ll taste so much better than–”

“Or we can spend seven dollars on some packs of powdered gravy and call it a day,” Donghyuck replies bluntly. “And I’m calling today as Tuesday.”

“But it would–”

“No.”

“You’re not even giving me a chance–”

“No.”

“Hyuckkk–”

“We’re making homemade mashed potatoes, homemade turkey, homemade stuffing, plus japchae and we’re getting two orders of dumplings from that Chinese place Renjun likes, and assorted vegetables and banchans, literally no one–”

“ _Haechannie_ –”

“–and I repeat, _no one_ , is going to care if the gravy is homemade,” Donghyuck says as he grabs the packets of gravy powder and puts them in the shopping cart before Jaemin can say anything else.

“Hey, that’s not fair!”

“Cart rules,” Donghyuck sticks his tongue out jeeringly. “Once it’s in the cart, there’s no restart.”

“Well those rules are _stupid_!”

“You’re the one who made up those rules!”

“Okay, fine,” Jaemin huffs annoyedly. “Then that means we get to make the brussel sprouts and green beans then.”

“What? No, we already said no one was going to–”

“Ten is a vegetarian now, what is he going to eat? Just potatoes? You know he feels about carbs.”

“Potatoes are carbs? Since when?”

“Since the time you said we couldn’t make homemade gravy and _we’regettingthesebrusselsproutsandthere’snothingyoucandoaboutit!_ ” Jaemin yells back as he pushes Donghyuck, grabs the shopping cart and runs down the packaged foods aisle to the produce section, before rounding the corner and zipping past the meat with a getaway cart.

“Na Jaemin you goddamn smartass, get back here!” Donghyuck curses in Korean as he chases after him.

“Why are you guys shouting and running? We’re not five,” Jeno groans mortifiedly as he sees Jaemin approaching with Donghyuck hot on his tail.

“What the hell are you guys doing?!” Renjun says as loudly as possible without it technically being screaming.

“Jeno, hurry! Get a bag and fill it with green beans! We’re getting them!” Jaemin says hurriedly as he grabs four cartons of organic brussel sprouts and tosses them into the shopping cart.

“Jeno don’t you dare!” Donghyuck barks out. “Put the bag down!”

“Hey!” Jaemin turns around. “This might be the _only_ chance I get to make Instagram-worthy food and potentially start my food blog and become foodie famous with my amazing homemade cooking skills and I am _not_ letting you ruin it for me!”

“What?!” Donghyuck squawks back incredulously. “Since _when_ do you want to be a foodie Instagram account?”

“Since the time you said we couldn’t get brussel sprouts because guess what!” Jaemin dramatically gestures to the brussel sprouts in the cart. “Once it’s in the cart, you can’t restart!”

“Oh that is so, so _petty_ ,” Donghyuck spits out, extra emphasis on the letter “p”.

“Oh yeah? Well–OW!”

“Ow, what the hell, Jun–ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!!!” 

“Now I will let go,” Renjun seethes through gritted teeth as he bends both their middle fingers slightly backwards in what can only be a very painful way, “and promise not to break both your middle fingers, if you can both promise me that you will stop acting like children.”

“But–”

“He started it–”

“ _Say you promise_ ,” he grits out as he moves their fingers just the tiniest bit more and then–

“Ow, ow, okay fine, fine! I’m sorry! We won’t!” Donghyuck yelps out in pain.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Injunnieeeee!” Jaemin almost cries out.

Renjun lets go of both their middle fingers and both immediately begin bending them the other way, gasping out in sweet relief as they tend to their extremely sore digits.

“I’m...going to go wait in the car,” Jeno says quietly as he takes Renjun’s keys out of his pocket.

“Wait, no, Jeno, are you scared of me? Oh come on, I only did that to–”

“No no, just, uh, going to the car,” Jeno says calmly as he starts to slowly walk away. “Just remembered, uh...okay it’s just, you guys are just being embarrassing.” Then he takes off and bolts as the sliding glass doors move out of his way.

* * *

_48 hours before Friendsgiving_

Jeno walks up the stairs to their apartment, arms and legs sore after spending the past hour and a half at the gym with Yeeun. He hears loud muffled voices talking through the apartment door. Intrigued, he pauses the Maroon 5 song on shuffle, takes out his earphones, and unlocks the door, only to find Donghyuck carrying a turkey over his head, Renjun chasing after him, and Jaemin batting him away with a wooden spoon.

“I am _not_ letting you guys put the turkey in our shower!” Renjun shouts. “That is so unsanitary!”

“Uh, hey guys?” Jeno tries.

“Oh my god, relax, it’s just turkey juice, we can wash it down the drain,” Jaemin replies.

“No, that’s so unclean–”

“How is that any less clean than us washing the sweat off our bodies after we work out or have a dance practice?” Donghyuck asks assertively.

“What? No, I’m not scared by the turkey in the shower, I’m scared for it to be in the shower! We haven’t cleaned that shower in a month, we are _not_ letting our turkey defrost in this cesspool!”

“It’s a _turkey_! We are literally baking it in a hotass oven, anything potentially icky will die in that oven!”

“Unless our hotass oven is as hot as the surface of the sun I am not letting you defrost a turkey in here!” 

“Well, we could use the sink, but it’s not our fault _someone_ doesn’t do his dishes,” Jaemin shoots a pointed glance at Jeno.

“Hey, whoa, that is so unfair, I said I would do them after I got home from the gym, I just got home!” Jeno puts his hands up defensively.

“Jeno, do you even know where the dish soap is?” Donghyuck asks.

“By the sink? Where else would it be?” Jeno says matter-of-factly.

“Under the cabinet, brand spanking new, which I bought yesterday since you _forgot_ to buy some after we asked you for the third time!” Jaemin smartly replies.

“Wash your dishes,” Renjun says, gesturing towards the sink.

“But I just got back from–”

“The gym, and so now you can do your dishes, you heard the man!” Jaemin points to the sink with his wooden spoon.

The door to Mark and Donghyuck’s room opens and Mark comes shuffling out, wrapped up in his wool blanket around his baggy sweatshirt and Spiderman pajama pants, Adidas socks letting him shuffle cutely across the floor. “Can you guys keep it down?” he croaks hoarsely as he coughs a bit more, adjusting the mouth mask straps around his ears, rubbing his eyes half-open with exhaustion. “I’m trying to sleep.”

“Sorry, Mark,” they all say in unison.

“Do you feel better?” Jaemin looks at him concernedly.

“Did you sleep a lot today?” Jeno asks politely.

“You’re drinking the soup, right?” Renjun checks in.

“I’m putting more blankets on you later, you look so pale,” Donghyuck says cheekily.

“No, yes, yes, thank you,” Mark says in response to each question, coughing a bit more before wiping his runny nose with his blanket. “I appreciate it though, guys.”

“Come on, let’s get you back in bed,” Donghyuck walks to Mark and takes him back into their room. “You need to sleep more, we want you to feel better for Thanksgiving.”

* * *

_30 hours before Friendsgiving_

“Hey, Jisung, should we bring something to this Thanksgiving that the guys are hosting?” Chenle asks as they walk off campus.

“What would we bring? It’s not like we can cook anything, neither of us know how to cook,” Jisung replies.

“Well, what if we tried cooking something for the first time for Thanksgiving?” Chenle says, hoping Jisung will say yes so that he can invite him to his apartment.

“Where would we cook it though? I don’t exactly have a kitchen in my dorm,” Jisung responds.

“We can cook it in my apartment!” Chenle beams happily. “I have a whole kitchen and everything.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot, your mom got you your own apartment,” Jisung nods his head. “Man that must be so nice, having an apartment all to yourself.”

* * *

_26 hours before Friendsgiving_

“Where the hell have you been?!” Jaemin screams as Renjun finally walks through the apartment door thirty minutes later than he said he would. “We’ve been waiting for you so we can start cooking!”

“Hey, it’s not my fault I turned into a taxi driver today!” Renjun says defensively. “My parents needed someone to drop them off at the airport, and I had to do stuff for Kun today too since I have the car!” 

“Well why couldn’t Kun take them?” Jaemin says exasperatedly.

“Because he was working! Why couldn’t you just cook with Jeno and Donghyuck?”

“Because they don’t know how to cook!”

“We know how to cook, you just won’t let us cook because you think we won’t be as good as Renjunnie over here,” Jeno says bluntly. “I mean, come on, Jaem, we at least cook better than Mark.”

“Well, we’re supposed to do this all _together_!” Jaemin adds on. “That’s the whole point of Friendsgiving, right? For us to do this together!”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, I should’ve been more aware of how much traffic there would be today,” Renjun sighs. “Let’s just start cooking, okay?”

_[Jaemin panicked freakout counter: 1]_

For the next two hours, everything goes smoothly as the day turns into evening. Once Renjun starts with the food prep, everyone gets into a groove and the work starts to go as planned. In synchronized fashion, they each divide into their assorted roles whenever they cook together – Renjun asserts himself as head chef, Jaemin his second-in-command handling most of the stove while Renjun mans the oven. Donghyuck is on vegetable prep and currently peels potatoes, while Jeno helps clean as they go and makes sure everyone doesn’t burn anything. In a couple of hours, they finish brining the turkey, preparing the vegetables, roasting most of the vegetables, making two of the five banchans, and getting the bread for stuffing prepped. Like a well-oiled machine, they efficiently effuse confidence into the kitchen, the mix of floral scents and herbaceous notes wafting wonderful aromas in their apartment.

And then the record scratches when Jaemin asks where the pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice is.

“Pumpkin puree?” Jeno asks. “I thought you guys were supposed to get the pumpkin puree?”

“What? No, _you guys_ were supposed to get the pumpkin puree,” Jaemin responds, voice rising irrationally. “It’s in the produce section!”

“No, it’s in the canned vegetables section, which is where you guys were!” Renjun says.

“Oh my god, how am I supposed to make the pumpkin spice-infused crust for the pumpkin pie if we don’t have the pumpkin for anything?!” Jaemin yells hysterically.

“Jaemin, you’re not making and baking it until tomorrow!” Renjun shouts.

“But I need to make the dough and chill it in the fridge!” Jaemin cries.

“Okay, okay, calm down, calm down,” Donghyuck says calmly, gripping Jaemin’s shoulders to soothe his nerves. “I’ll go to the store and get some pumpkin puree, okay? Don’t worry. Jeno! Start mashing the potatoes.”

“Got it!” Jeno responds and rises to the occasion.

“Okay, I’ll go get that, anything else?”

“Cream! Creme fraiche! Apples! More potatoes, I don’t know if we have enough, oh my god, what if we don’t have enough–”

“ _Jaemin_ ,” Renjun stoically says. “You need to calm down.”

“But–”

“Jaemin, dude. Lower your voice, think happy thoughts, you need to calm down.”

“But the pie–”

“Will be perfect no matter what you do, dude!” Renjun says tenderly. “Don’t stress about it. We already got so much work done and our sides are going to be amazing, and the turkey is going to be amazing, okay? Don’t worry about it.”

Jaemin gives a small nod. “Okay.”

Here, sit on the couch, take a breather, relax for a minute, okay?” Renjun leads him to the couch, and lets him sit down. “Don’t worry, me and Jeno can handle ourselves for five minutes in the kitchen.”

“Okay,” Jaemin replies softly, breathing slowly, in and out.

“I’ll go get the stuff, will be back!” Donghyuck replies.

_Fifteen minutes after Jaemin’s Friendsgiving panic…_

“Wait, what did Jaemin want again? Pumpkin spice?” Donghyuck asks himself out loud in the spice section.

He dials Jaemin’s number, but it goes straight to voicemail. He tries Jeno and Renjun, but he doesn’t think they’ll pick up – after all, they’re still cooking. They don't pick up.

Even though he doesn’t want to call Mark because he doesn’t want to wake him up if he’s sleeping, he has no other choice.

Mark picks up on the fourth ring.

“Hello?” he says with a stuffy nose.

“Hey Mark. How you feeling?”

“Good, I guess,” Mark says, sounding better, just congested. “Renjun’s soup that Kun made really helped. I just am really congested today.”

“What are you doin’?”

“Watching Criminal Minds on Netflix.”

“Minimal what?”

“Criminal Minds.”

“Oh, Criminal Minds! Sorry, I guess my reception isn’t that great at Whole Foods,” Donghyuck replies. “Anyways, can you go ask Jaemin what he wanted me to buy at Whole Foods again?”

“Yeah, hold on.”

There’s the sound of feet rustling, a door opening, and then Jaemin and Mark talking.

“He wants you to get pumpkin spice and pumpkin puree.”

“What?”

“Pumpkin spice, cream and pumpkin puree.”

“Curry?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, got it! Thanks, Mark. Feel better!” 

He hangs up the phone and looks for pumpkin curry. Although he’s never made American pumpkin pie, he figures the curry is just an American thing. Maybe that’s how they make those pumpkin spice lattes everyone always raves about.

Although he easily finds the pumpkin spice, he can’t find the pumpkin curry. In the end, he grabs some curry powder with the pumpkin spice, reasoning out that using pumpkin spice and curry powder would be the same thing as pumpkin curry. Then he heads to wait in the long line at the cash register.

* * *

_25 hours before Friendsgiving_

_[Jaemin panicked freakout counter: 2]_

“Hey, should we bring anything for Friendsgiving?” Yeri asks Jungwoo and Yukhei as they watch 'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving'.

Jungwoo looks contemplatively at the fridge. “I dunno, we don’t really have anything to bring.”

“And I ain’t exactly a chef, bro,” Yukhei replies.

“I know, but I feel like we should, they are cooking food for us and all,” Yeri says.

“We could bring a pumpkin pie?” Jungwoo asks.

“No, Mark said Jaemin was gonna make pumpkin pie,” Yeri says.

“Wait, bro!” Yukhei responds. “Let’s bring popcorn and jellybeans!”

Jungwoo and Yeri both turn to look at Yukhei skeptically. “What?”

“Look, they’re making popcorn and toast and jellybeans!” Yukhei explains. “We should do that!”

“Yukhei, I know you’ve lived in Hong Kong your whole life but...have you ever had an actual Thanksgiving meal?” Yeri asks.

“No. Why? Is this not what you guys eat for Thanksgiving?” Yukhei points to the TV as Snoopy serves the toast with popcorn, pretzel sticks and jellybeans.

“You know what...yes, actually,” Jungwoo replies as he quickly turns off the TV.

“Hey, we were watching that!” Yukhei whines.

“Eh, that’s basically the end anyways, it’s not that interesting,” Jungwoo says craftily. “Come on, let’s go to the store and get some pretzel sticks and jelly beans for Thanksgiving tomorrow. They’re gonna love it!”

“Oh, yeah, hey, nice thinking!” Yukhei nods happily as he goes to get his coat in their room.

Yeri shoots Jungwoo a look.

“What?” Jungwoo shrugs.

“You’re so sneaky,” Yeri says bluntly. “I cannot believe we’re bringing them that for Thanksgiving.”

“You’re just mad that you didn’t think of that first,” Jungwoo grins devilishly.

Yeri purses her lips. “Maybe so.”

* * *

_24 hours before Friendsgving_

“I said pumpkin _puree_! Puree!!!” Jaemin yells hysterically.

“Okay, okay, calm down, I’ll just go back to the store and get some,” Donghyuck grimaces, slightly fearful at the sight of Jaemin five degrees of separation away from a mental breakdown.

“No, we don’t have time! We’re already running thirty minutes behind schedule, the potatoes still aren’t mashed, this isn’t enough cream for everything and–”

“Jaemin, please calm down, you’re stressing us out,” Jeno tries getting through to him.

“No, I can’t, I can’t, oh my god this is going to be a disaster, all our hard work will–”

“Jaemin,” Renjun cuts him off impatiently, “I know you’re freaking out but this has got to stop. It’s Thanksgiving. Things never go according to plan.”

“I know but–”

“Jaemin–”

“–the turkey’s going to be ruined and–”

“–Jaemin–”

“–and we haven’t even gotten all the sides done yet–”

“– _Jaemin_ –”

“–and what about the japchae? Oh my god this is a trainwreck–”

“Jaemin, listen to me,” Renjun grabs Jaemin by his collar to pull him out of his head. “This? All this? This is why I didn’t want to do Friendsgiving this year. Because you get all caught up in your head and then freak out and then stress everyone out.”

“But you said–”

“I said that I didn’t want to do Thanksgiving because your plans never go to plan. Because they don’t! They’re not supposed to! Jaemin, it’s Thanksgiving, everything is supposed to be a chaotic disaster. But it’s supposed to be a _fun_ chaotic disaster. And you stressing everyone out isn’t fun.”

Jaemin’s eyebrows rise astronomically as his eyes widen with realization. “Oh.”

“Look, I know you want this to be the perfect Thanksgiving,” Renjun says evenly. “I know you want this to go smoothly. But if things don’t work out, we just improvise, okay? Just like how you improvised and ad libbed when you did theatre in high school.”

“Ohhhhhhh.”

“Now listen, I want you to go with me to Whole Foods,” Renjun says as he grabs his keys in his left hand and Jaemin’s sweater sleeve in his right hand, “and trust Jeno and Donghyuck to finish the rest of the cooking, okay? It's just the green bean casserole left to prep. We can do the japchae when we get back. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Okay, let’s go,” Renjun starts walking out the door with Jaemin in tow. “Third time’s the charm at Whole Foods.”

_Fifteen minutes after Jaemin’s second Friendsgiving panic…_

“Hey, what’s supposed to go in the green bean casserole?” Jeno asks.

“Uh...I don’t know?” Donghyuck replies. “I’ve never had a green bean casserole.”

“I can’t find the recipe Jaemin printed out for us,” Jeno scratches his head. “But I know we’re supposed to prep it so that it’s ready to go in the oven tomorrow.”

“Hmm.”

They look at the assortment of ingredients on the counter. Kimchi, cranberry sauce, gochujang, dried anchovies, chopped onions, pecans, sauteed mushrooms and peas with cream sauce, elbow macaroni, sesame seeds, japchae noodles, pumpkin seeds, and strawberries.

“Well, it’s a casserole so...it’s supposed to be like a cake, I guess?” Jeno says. “Maybe we should call Renjun or Jaemin–”

“No, we shouldn’t stress them out,” Donghyuck shakes his head. “Let’s just figure it out. It can’t be that hard!”

“Oh, wait, here it is!” Jeno responds as he finds the two pages for the green bean casserole recipe. “Let’s see...okay, so first we do the mushrooms and peas in the cream sauce, but Renjun already did that, so...okay, next we mix it with chopped onions and salt and pepper in a large bowl.”

“Got it,” Donghyuck puts the mushrooms, green beans, and onions together, and then seasons the mixture with salt and pepper. “What next?”

“Okay, let me see the next page...huh.”

“What is it?”

“So then we stir honey and maple syrup with strawberries, cornstarch and sugar in a medium sized bowl, not the large one, I guess,” Jeno says as he pours the strawberries and maple syrup into a second bowl. “And then it says mix to combine.”

“But we use two separate bowls?” Donghyuck asks puzzledly.

“I guess...we put them together in the baking dish? Maybe that’s what it means when it says mix to combine.”

  
“Ahhh, that would make sense,” Donghyuck replies as he pours the creamy vegetable mixture into the baking tray. 

“Wait!” he suddenly says.

Jeno looks at him worriedly. “What is it?”

“Were we supposed to add the strawberries first or the vegetables first?” Donghyuck asks.

“Oh, shoot,” Jeno says. “Uh, I don’t know? Maybe it doesn’t matter, I mean...they’re all getting mixed together anyways?”

“Hmmm. Do you think Jaemin will notice if the order is wrong?” Donghyuck asks.

“No, I don’t think so. I mean, it’s all getting baked together anyways, right?” Jeno shrugs. “It should be fine.”

“Ah, you’re right, you’re right,” Donghyuck replies as he adds the sugary berries in with the green beans and mushrooms.

“Okay, then it says to top with oats, almonds, and flour...I guess that’s what these pecans and pumpkin seeds are for?” Jeno takes the containers and scatters over the nuts and seeds on top of the mixture. “Maybe Jaemin wanted it to be more like Thanksgiving by doing pecans and pumpkin seeds.”

“So now we bake it?” Donghyuck asks.

“No, this was just preparing it for tomorrow, I think,” Jeno says. “Ah, see, here it is on the to-do list he made!” Jeno points to the fifth task on Jaemin’s Friendsgiving to-do list: “prep green bean casserole, cover with foil so ready to bake tomorrow”.

“So we just cover with foil, and then pop it in the oven tomorrow?” Donghyuck asks.

“I guess so.”

They wrap the casserole dish with foil, and then put it on the third shelf in the fridge. However, Jeno is unable to close the door, as both of them stare at their casserole for a minute, feeling like something isn't quite right.

“This is a really weird recipe,” Jeno ponders confusedly. “Why would you put mushrooms and cream sauce with strawberries and maple syrup?”

Donghyuck shrugs. “Americans have really weird recipes for Thanksgiving food, I guess.”

“Really?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, why is it called stuffing if you don’t actually stuff the turkey with it?” Donghyuck argues. “Jaemin says you just make it separately because it tastes better that way, and that it might be unsafe to eat if you put it in the turkey. But then, shouldn’t it just be called baked bread salad, or something?”

Jeno nods in agreement. “That’s a good point, actually.”

“And did you know that Jaemin was looking up a recipe a couple days ago, because he wanted to try making something called scallop potatoes, instead of mashed potatoes?” Donghyuck grimaces. “I mean, who would want to eat scallops with potatoes?”

“Oooh yeah, no, that sounds gross,” Jeno makes a face. “What is it with Americans trying out these weird food combinations?”

He closes the fridge door.

* * *

_19 hours before Friendsgiving_

_[Jaemin panicked freakout counter: 3]_

It’s a cold and chilly night, but the five of them stay warm as they cuddle together on the couch while they watch 'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving'. The night has calmed them down, the lights turned off as Donghyuck snuggles closer to Mark for body warmth, while Jeno makes himself comfortable between Donghyuck and Jaemin. Jaemin shares a blanket with Renjun, who rests in Jaemin’s lap, cozy between the blanket and Jaemin’s old Bodega Bay sweater.

“Hey, I have a question,” Donghyuck says as he lifts his head off of a sleeping Mark’s right shoulder. “How come she’s called Peppermint Patty? Is it because she smells like peppermint or something?”

Jaemin and Renjun stare at each other. “Well...I don’t know, actually. Why is she called Peppermint Patty?” Jaemin wonders.

“Maybe it’s because she smells like peppermint? I honestly have no idea,” Renjun responds. “I never really thought about her name, it was just...a given, that she was named Peppermint Patty, you know?”

“Is it because her shirt is green?” Donghyuck asks. “And peppermint is green?”

“Wait, is that why she has freckles?” Jeno says. “Because they’re supposed to represent the pepper, and then the green t-shirt is the mint?”

Jaemin and Renjun both look at each other again. “Well...I don’t know. I guess?” Renjun shrugs. “I really have no idea if her being called Peppermint Patty is due to her appearance or something else.”

“Maybe it’s just a fun nickname. You know, like Jeno Jam?” Jaemin offers.

“Well, I don’t really like that nickname,” Jeno replies.

“Right.” Jaemin leans his chin into Renjun’s shoulder and thinks a bit.

“Well, I guess it’s kinda like how we call sometimes call Hyuck ‘Haechan’ or ‘Haechannie’, if you think about it,” Jaemin reasons out loud. “Sort of like how Renjun is called Injunnie, or sometimes we call you JenJen. Maybe it’s just a fun nickname and it just sorta...stuck, I guess.”

Jeno hums contentedly at Jaemin’s answer. “I wonder what my nickname would be if I was a 'Peanuts' character.”

Donghyuck perks up at that. “JenJen Jammy,” Donghyuck declares cutely. “And I would be Huckleberry Finn, except shortened to Hyuck Finn.”

“Oooh, ooh, what would me and Renjun be?” Jaemin asks eagerly.

Donghyuck thinks for a moment.

“Jaemint Mojito and Renjuniper Berry,” he says.

“After the drink at Philz?” 

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“Is mine after a juniper berry?”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, what is a juniper berry?” JenJen Jammy asks Hyuck Finn.

Furrowed eyebrows, pursed lips, and a scrunched face indicate that Donghyuck is trying to contemplate what a juniper berry is. Then he shrugs. “I don’t know.”

“What would Mark’s be?” Renjuniper Berry says.

Donghyuck grins chaotically.

“Marketchup.”

* * *

_10 hours before Friendsgiving_

“Morning, bedhead,” Chenle giggles as Jisung walks into the kitchen.

“Morning, Chenle,” Jisung yawns in response, scrunching his nose as he itches his cheek.

“Want pancakes for breakfast?”

“No, I’m still tired, not really in the mood to eat,” Jisung yawns again, this time rubbing his eyes. “Besides, aren’t we going to eat a lot at Friendsgiving today?”

“Mmmm well yeah, but are you really gonna wait ten hours to eat?”

Jisung shrugs. “I can just have cereal if you have any, Lele.”

“But I wanted to make pancakes,” Chenle pouts.

“Next time,” Jisung smiles sleepily. “Besides, I don’t really feel like cooking in your kitchen after last night.”

Chenle’s heart soars knowing that there’s going to be a next time.

It was almost worth almost setting his apartment on fire after their attempt at making an apple pie went horribly wrong.

* * *

_5 hours before Friendsgiving_

“EWWWWW THAT IS SO GROSS!” Donghyuck squeals loudly. “Why is it making that noise?!”

“Oh my god, calm down, it’s not like it’s a dead body!” Renjun says exasperatedly.

“It sounds so disgusting, oh my god,” Donghyuck gags.

“Oh my god, I want to use this for ASMR,” Jeno beams with starry eyes at the can.

For the past five minutes they’ve been trying to get the cranberry sauce out of the can without breaking it. Alas, there has been no success, and Renjun tried shaking it but Donghyuck reacted rather adversely to the sound of squelching gelatinous cranberry sauce in a can.

“Why do we have to keep it in one piece anyways?” Donghyuck asks. “Or even as a jello? Just scoop it out or put it in the microwave and melt–”

  
“No! We are not scooping it out, and we are certainly not melting it,” Jaemin snaps. “What are we, barbarians? We’re going to cut it out and then slice it, and dress it with orange zest and lemon juice, plus walnuts and cranberries.”

“Dressing it with more cranberries?” Donghyuck feels his insides churn unpleasantly. “That’s like adding chicken to an omelette.”

“Shut up, it’s going to taste good and you’re going to like it!” Jaemin says as he intensely shakes the can of cranberries.

“Eww, eww, ewwww that’s so gross,” Donghyuck whines as he runs into his room.

The commotion causes Mark to come out of their room about thirty seconds later.

“Hey, do you guys need help?” Mark asks. “I feel a lot better, just super congested, but I’m wearing my face mask! So I shouldn’t get you guys sick or anything. And I'm not squeamish about this jello sauce.”

“Is Donghyuck really that perturbed by cranberries?” Renjun asks.

“Yes.”

Renjun smiles devilishly at his answer. “Now I know what to do whenever he pisses me off.”

“Yes, please come and help, Mark,” Jaemin says hurriedly, “we need to get this sauce out so we can be finished with it and put it in the fridge so it stays cold.”

* * *

_4 hours before Friendsgiving_

_[Jaemin panicked freakout counter: 3.5]_

“Wait, you ordered _how_ many dumplings?” Kun asks as he gets into the driver’s seat of his parent’s car.

“Sixty! I ordered sixty dumplings,” Renjun shouts back across the kitchen.

“How the hell are those supposed to fit in the back of the car?” Kun asks as he turns on the ignition. “Mom still has her boxes of...whatever this is, it’s still back here!”

“I don’t know, just make it work, Kun!” Renjun snaps. “Put them in the trunk or something.”

“The trunk is full of her stuff too!”

“Then improvise! I don’t know, call someone for help.”

“And who am I supposed to call?” Kun asks as he backs out of the driveway and puts Renjun on speaker.

“Ten?”

Kun loudly groans. “I told him I was too busy to see him before Friendsgiving today.”

“What?” Renjun asks confusedly as he cuts carrots. “Why would he–Mark, put the knife down!” he yells at Mark in English.

“He wanted to go get drinks to pregame your Friendsgiving,” Kun sighs as he makes a left. “I told him no, because I was going to be busy helping you.”

“You used me to get out of hanging out with Ten?”

Renjun can practically hear Kun roll his eyes through the phone. “Oh please, like you haven’t done the same by using me to get out of hanging with Ten.”

“Hey, it’s a lot harder for me when Jaemin loves going to all those influencer events he gets invited to and he knows me and Jaemin live together.”

“Okay, whatever, I’ll just, think of a way, or something, to get these in the back of the car,” Kun sighs as the light turns red and he presses the break. “I’ll see you then. Bye, Renjun.”

“Later, Kun.”

“Bye Kun!” Jeno says.

“We’ll see you soon!” Jaemin exclaims.

“Bye, guys!” Kun says in English as he clicks the phone to end the call.

Then he slams his head into the car wheel.

“I can’t believe I have to pick up Ten’s dry cleaning _and_ these stupid dumplings.”

* * *

_2 hours before Friendsgiving_

_[# of dumplings retrieved: 0]_

“Why is there kimchi in the gravy?” Jeno asks curiously.

“WHAT?!?!” Jaemin yells as he rushes over from the table to the stove, cutlery flying disarray across the floor.

“What? I wanted to add kimchi to make it taste better,” Mark says. “It tastes too meaty.”

“That’s how it’s _supposed_ to taste!!!” Jaemin cries exasperatedly. “That's how it's supposed to taste because it goes with the meat like the turkey which we haven't even put in the oven yet because the stuffing is still in the oven! It needs to be in the oven if we're going to be on time! Oh my god, oh my god, we have to throw it out and start over and–”

“Jaemin–”

“No! Do not tell me to calm down, we need to fix this NOW!”

“I’m going back in my room,” Donghyuck says as he rushes back to his bed and closes the door swiftly.

* * *

_1 hour before Friendsgiving_

_[Jaemin panicked freakout counter: 4]_

“Okay, me and Jaemin are gonna go to the store really quick to get some paper plates and cups – and some fresh air,” Donghyuck calls back as he takes a very wiry bundle of nerves named Jaemin with him out the door. “Do you guys need anything else at the store?”

“No, we should be good, the green bean casserole should be done by the time you guys are back!” Jeno calls back. “Have fun!”

“We will!” Jaemin smiles a bit unhinged. “Oh, and Mark?”

“Yes, Jaemin?” Mark asks in a quiet voice.

With a beaming grin on his face, Jaemin happily replies, “If you touch anything while I’m gone or mess anything up again, I’m going to kill you.”

And then the door slams shut.

Mark exhales with relief as he turns to look at Renjun and Jeno. “You’re not gonna tell him I accidentally put soy sauce in the mashed potatoes, right?”

“I added enough cream and some cornstarch to them so he doesn’t notice,” Renjun tells him calmly. “The texture won’t be...great, but the taste should be fine. If he thinks they're too brown, I'll just tell him I added some nutmeg to them, that's believeable enough.”

“Thank you, thank you so much,” Mark thanked them gratefully.

“Hey, wait, what’s that smell?” Renjun sniffs the strange, mildly unpleasant aroma in the room.

“You know, I didn’t notice it, but now that you pointed it out, I smell it too,” Jeno replies.

“Is it the casserole?” Mark asks. “I’ve never had green bean casserole before so I don’t know what it’s supposed to smell like.”

“I mean, neither have I, only Jaemin has,” Renjun waves his hand in front of his nose, “but I don’t think it’s supposed to be that...stinky?”

“Maybe it’s the strawberries in it,” Jeno says.

Mark and Renjun both turn to look at Jeno now.

“The _what_?”

“You know, the strawberries,” Jeno repeats. “I mean, the recipe was weird, you know, calling for two bowls, and mixing strawberries and maple syrup with the mushrooms and peas in the casserole dish together after you mix the two separately.”

“You _what_?”

“What? That’s what the recipe said,” Jeno shrugs.

“Jeno, can I see this recipe?” Renjun asks a bit too tightly.

“Sure, it’s this one. Why, what’s wrong?” Jeno says as he hands Renjun the two pages of the recipe.

Mark and Renjun look at both, see the instructions, and then look at each other and gasp.

“Jeno, only the first page is for the green bean casserole!” Renjun cries despondently. “The other page is for a strawberry granola crumble recipe that Jaemin printed out on accident!”

“WHAT?!” Jeno yelps shockedly.

“You made the first page of a green bean casserole and the second page of a strawberry granola crumble!” Renjun blurts out.

“Oh my god, oh my god,” Mark panics as both his hands grip his own scalp fearfully, “Jaemin is going to kill us, ohhhh he’s so going to kill us, you, especially you!” He points a sharp finger at Jeno.

“Oh my god we can’t let him find out, he’s going to freak out!” Jeno says nervously, shaking all over terribly. “God, we’re going to kill him with the stress if he finds out me and Donghyuck messed up the green bean casserole, what do we do, what do we do?!?”

If a lightbulb could go off when Renjun had an idea, its fuse would have blown up three seconds after it had turned on.

“This is what we’re gonna do,” he says conspiratorially as he brings Jeno and Mark in closer for the huddle.

* * *

_45 minutes before Friendsgiving_

_[Jaemin panicked freakout counter: 4?]_

“So, let me get this straight,” Jaemin says. “You guys made the casserole, but then when you took it out, you accidentally dropped it.”

“Yeah!” Jeno nods his head enthusiastically.

“And then when you dropped it, all the contents spilled out, but the glass dish magically didn’t shatter?”

“That’s what happened!” Mark says a bit too zealously.

“And then you cleaned it all up, and threw it out in the dumpster, because you didn’t want me to see it?”

“Oh, well, you know, you’ve freaked out so much, we didn’t want you to stress out more,” Renjun smiles a bit too widely. “We’re sorry, we just thought it would be easier if we explained it to you by word, instead of having you physically see the mess and then you have another freakout and we have to take you to your happy place at Whole Foods again.”

"The bulk bins," Jaemin whispers quietly as he processes all this information just given to him very carefully. 

Then, he begins shedding joyful tears. 

“You guys are so sweet,” Jaemin cries as he hugged all three of them. “You care so much about me that you didn’t want me to see the disaster of casserole!”

“Yeah, sure, something like that,” Renjun wheezes out as Jaemin hugs him tighter and starts to cut off his circulation.

“Jaemin, I’m gonna start coughing if you don’t let go,” Mark says nervously.

“Oh, sorry, sorry guys!” Jaemin lets go of them and the three inhale sharply as they regain the ability to breathe.

“Okay, sorry for having a meltdown earlier, just, whoo! I get in my own head sometimes,” Jaemin laughs bubbly. “I really needed that fresh air – and the paper plates and cups of course – to relax, and decompress. I’ll be back, just gonna change real quick!” He practically skips to his room, awash with the feeling of gratitude at how great his friends are to him. 

“Okay, see you soon!” Donghyuck calls after him.

Once the door slams, Hyuck Finn loses the grin and looks at the three of them. “What the hell did you guys do with the casserole?”

* * *

_30 minutes before Friendsgiving_

“Kun!” Ten yells enthusiastically as he hops into the passenger seat.

“Ten!” Kun also says back equally enthusiastically, hugging Kun. “How’ve you been?”

“Oh good, good – what’s with the Chinese takeout containers in the box?” Ten asks as he points to the box filled with Chinese takeout containers.

“Oh, those are the dumplings for Friendsgiving today!” Kun replies as he gets back on the road. “We’re going to be having some.”

_I cannot believe I just spent the past hour moving all of mom and dad’s crap out of their own car._

“Did you get the soup ones?” Ten asks curiously.

“You know I did!” Kun replies jovially.

_And now I’ll have to spend another hour moving all their crap back into this car so they don’t find out. All for these stupid dumplings._

“Wait, hold on, can you turn the light on in the back really quick?” Ten asks. “I want to get a nice photo of these for my Instagram story.”

Kun smiles tightly. “Of course.”

“Oh, also, guess what I brought,” Ten singsongs as he shows Kun what’s in his bag.

“Vodka?!” Kun almost slams a bit too hard on the breaks at the stop sign. “Bacardi?!”

“And tequila!” he smiles evilly.

“Ten, this is Thanksgiving!"

"What? Renjun is the one who texted us asking us to bring booze!"

"You weren't actually supposed to get booze! It's _Thanksgiving_ , Ten! It’s supposed to be a wholesome day of family-friendly food!”

“And to show my thanks for the family-friendly meal, I’m doing some adult-friendly giving,” Ten meows back.

* * *

_15 minutes before Friendsgiving_

_[# of dumplings retrieved: 60]_

_[Booze: retrieved]_

“Hey, Yeri!” Mark hugs each of his former roommates warmly.

“Hey!” Yeri chirps back. “What’s with the face mask?”

“Oh, this,” Mark says as he points to it. “I’m still sick, so I’m just wearing this for protection.”

“Wait, so should we have hugged you?” Jungwoo asks.

“No, no, it’s totally fine! Not contagious or anything. And I washed my hands, don’t worry!” Mark says.

“Alright, bro, it’s good to see you again,” Yukhei says happily. “Hey, we brought you some traditional Thanksgiving food!”

“Oooh, what did you bring,” Renjun says as he walks to greet them. “It’s…popcorn?”

“Plus jelly beans and pretzels!” Yukhei beams at them like an excited puppy. “Like what Charlie Brown had for Thanksgiving!”

“Ohhhhhh,” Mark and Renjun both look at each other with the same realization at the same time.

“Yeah, wanted to keep it strictly traditional,” Jungwoo winks playfully while Yeri tries not to laugh.

“Will this be okay with Jaemin, though?” Yeri asks.

“Oh no, don’t worry,” Renjun shakes his head. “Ten brought some alcohol and basically he’s all chilled out–”

“Heyyy you guyssss,” Jaemin singsongs happily as he hugs each of Mark’s former roommates tightly, the red glow of his face extremely obvious without any dim lighting of a club to hide it. “How’s it going? So glad you could make it!”

“Well hello to you too,” Yeri says a bit smugly. “Didn’t know this was that kind of gathering.”

“Ohhh, no, no, it wasn’t, it wasn’t.” Jaemin shakes his head a bit vigorously. “But then Ten brought the alcohol and – well, I just couldn’t help myself,” he giggles to himself.

“Bro, is it gonna be that kinda–”

“No, Yukhei, we’re not turning this into the frat kind of party,” Mark cuts him off before he can even finish.

“Aww, come on. It’ll be fun! Like remember, Halloween, when–”

Mark immediately shoves a hand on top of Yukhei’s mouth to stop him from finishing that sentence.

“Halloween? What happened on Halloween?” Yeri asks.

“Nothing, nothing, we’re just uh...wanna take a shot?” Mark huffs a bit too nervously.

Yeri decides to save investigating about whatever it was related to Halloween for another time. After all, today is all about Thanksgiving.

“Sure!”

* * *

_0 seconds to Friendsgiving_

_[Slightly tipsy Jaemin counter: 1]_

“So, what are we all thankful for? Who wants to start?” Mark asks the table. Or rather, the kitchen table plus the foldout table they keep for when they have friends over.

“Oh, me, me!” Chenle says enthusiastically, waving his hand.

“Okay, you start, Chenle!”

“Okay, I’m thankful for my best, best friend, Jisung, who helped save my apartment from burning down last night, and made me hot chocolate this morning,” Chenle says happily.

“Oh come on, it’s not a big deal,” Jisung says with a bashful smile on his face. “It was just powder with some almond milk, that’s all.”

“But it was a big deal to me, it was so delicous! And that’s why I’m so grateful for you,” he finishes sappily.

“Cuteeee,” Jaemin says.

“Okay, Mark, your turn!”

“Okay! Um...I’m thankful that both my friends, old and new, could make it here. And that I get to spend this holiday with wonderful people. And that I finally feel better enough to eat with you guys,” he says chirpily, only to cough up a storm five seconds later. “Well, not completely better,” he finishes hoarsely, throat dry.

“Aw, that’s really nice Mark!” Jaemin says.

“You’re such a sap,” Yeri adds on disgustedly.

“I agree, but in all honesty that is very sweet of you to say, Mark,” Jungwoo says warmly. “Thanks for inviting us.”

“Of course, I’m happy to have you guys here,” Mark smiles. “Okay, Kun, your turn!”

“Okay, I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving with the food, and the dumplings,” Kun starts, “but most of all, I’m most thankful for getting to spend time with my younger brother, instead of freezing my ass off in New York this weekend!”

“Well, actually, you’d still be spending time with me either way–”

“Okay, enough from me!” Kun cuts Renjun off. “Jaemin?”

“I’m thankful for my best friends, especially my bestest of best friends, Jeno!” Jaemin says as he sips on his mixed drink of Bacardi, Martinelli’s, Diet Coke and pomegranate juice.

Hyuck looks at him skeptically. “Sorry, what?” he says as he holds onto the bottle of rosé next to him a bit too tightly.

“I said that I’m thankful for Jeno. And everyone else, of course,” Jaemin adds.

“Uh, no no,” Donghyuck says. “You took what I was gonna say I was thankful for.”

“You were going to say you were thankful for being Jeno’s best friend?”

Donghyuck raises his eyebrows offendedly. “Yes? Because I am his bestest of best friends.”

“Excuse me?”

Renjun groans. “Oh boy, here we go.”

“Oh this teaaaaa–”

“Ten, please don’t encourage this,” Renjun snaps at him.

“Okay, so, you’re both thankful for Jeno!” Mark tries tactfully changing the subject. “Okay next is you Jeno, what are you–”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m Jeno’s best friend,” Hyuck interrupts as he declares this to the entire table. “Isn’t that right, Jeno?”

Ten and Jisung pull out phones, open the camera app, and start video recording.

“...Uh, I’m thankful for my cats?” Jeno says with just a tad bit of uncertainty.

“Oh my god, oh my god!” Jaemin yelps incredulously. “I cannot believe you! You know, you always do this. You just can’t _stand_ the fact that I might be closer to Jeno than you are!”

“Because you are not and you never _will_ be–”

“No, _you_ will never be!” Jaemin fires back with extra emphasis on the “be”.

Donghyuck looks at Jaemin cockily. “Oh really?”

“Yeah, really! Because I have my friendship with Jeno! I have our little moments and secrets! You want what I have!” Jaemin takes another sip of his drink.

“No, I don’t want what you have, because guess what? I’m already Jeno’s bestest best friend!” Donghyuck declares again as he takes another sip from the bottle of rosé.

“I’m Jeno’s bestest best friend!”

“No, I’m Jeno’s best bestest best friend!”

“I think we’re _all_ Jeno’s bestest best friend–”

“Zip it, Yeri.”

Renjun groans again. “I knew the rosé was a mistake. I knew it was a mistake when we bought it at Whole Foods yesterday.”

"Wait, what do you mean you bought it at Whole Foods yesterday?" Kun says sternly. " _Renjun_ , how did you buy that bottle of wine at Whole Foods?"

“Guys, can’t we all just say what we’re thankful for?” Mark tries changing the subject again.

“You know, you don’t even _like_ Jeno as much as I do!” Jaemin says in an accusatory tone.

“Oh yeah? Well, you haven’t even _known_ Jeno as long as I have!” Hyuck fires back.

“Uh, well, I _know_ him better than you!”

“Oh yeah? Really?”

“Really!”

“Really?”

“Really really really like you, by Carly Rae Jepsen?” Jungwoo quips.

Yeri, Yukhei, Chenle and Jisung can’t stop laughing hysterically at the antics playing out in front of them. And just when they think it can’t get better–

“Okay then, prove it!” Donghyuck challenges Jaemin. “What’s Jeno’s favorite color?”

“International Klein Blue because he had to write a paper on it in one of his lower division classes,” Jaemin scoffs. “What’s his favorite fruit?”

“Watermelon but only if it’s cut up into tiny squares and it’s not prepackaged but freshly cut!” Donghyuck says boldly. “What are the names of his three cats and which one was the one found in the box on the street?”

“Bongsik, Seoli, and Lali, and Bongsik was the one who was found in the box and that’s why her name starts with a B! What kind of animal would Jeno be if he could Transfigure into one and what's his house?”

“He always wanted to be Griffyndor but he knows he'd end up sorted in Hufflepuff instead and trick question, he wouldn’t because he doesn’t _think_ he would be the kind of person to have paws!”

“You guys, this is so embarrassing,” Jeno says distressingly. “Please stop.”

“Unless, of course, instead of Thanksgiving Day, it’s actually Opposite Day,” Renjun quips sarcastically, “in which case please continue, because you know how much we love hearing your boyfriends talk about–”

“We’re NOT his boyfriends!” Jaemint Mojito and Hyuck Finn say in unison.

“Right,” Renjuniper Berry smiles sardonically.

Jaemin points a drunk (but still pointed) finger at Donghyuck. “You are not–”

“No, you’re not–”

"Look, I asked you guys to stop, so can you guys stop?” Jeno interrupts their bacchanalian banter. “I mean, you guys are both good friends, seriously this is so embarrassing, neither of you have to prove–”

“You’re right, I don’t have to prove anything!” Jaemin says confidently. “I’m your best best friend, and that’s that. Nothing left to prove.”

“You guys, stop, I’m starting to get a headache from all this bickeri-aghhh,” Mark doesn’t get to finish that sentence as he starts to have a coughing fit.

“No, don’t stop, this is the best Thanksgiving ever!” Ten cheers on from behind his phone camera. “You’re doing great, you guys!”

“See, and now you’ve gone and made Jeno upset,” Donghyuck scorns admonishingly.

“Oh yeah? Really?” Jaemin spits out a bit too venomously, ready to go on the offensive. “Well, not as upset as Jeno’s going to be WHEN HE FINDS OUT YOU’RE THE ONE WHO’S BEEN EATING HIS CHOCOLATES FOR THE PAST MONTH!”

Half of fold-out table and half of the kitchen table gasp. The rest all stifle laughter.

“Oh you just had to bring that up, didn’t you,” Donghyuck narrows his eyes angrily at Jaemin.

“That was YOU?!” Jeno almost goes into falsetto on the last syllable. “Hyuck, those chocolates were a gift from Yeeun! They meant a lot to me!”

“Okay, fine, yeah, I was the one who ate your chocolates, but I also used some of them to make hot chocolate _which you enjoyed_ , by the way!” he points a finger at Jeno while he takes another sip of his rosé.

“I...well, that’s true, I guess,” Jeno stumbles, at a loss for words.

“Well it’s okay,” Donghyuck replies a bit too sweetly, “because me eating chocolates is certainly not as bad as _using Jeno’s desk for a hookup!_ ”

Now both tables gasp. Chenle sips on his juice box a bit too loudly.

Jaemin looks like he’s five degrees of separation away from tackling Donghyuck onto the ground. “You _bitch_.”

“YOU WHAT?!” Jeno screams.

“Look, Jeno, JenJen, Jeno Lee, JenJen Jammy,” Jaemin lists off Jeno’s nicknames, “My desk was a mess! It was embarrassing. You had just cleaned your room so it would’ve been better that way. And it was hot! Come on, at least I didn’t use your bed.”

“And that somehow justifies using my desk for _that_?!” Jeno protests angrily.

“Oh come on, you’re not the only one, I’ve used Mark’s desk too, Renjun and Donghyuck both knew–”

“WHAT?!” Mark shouts incredulously. “You use my desk?! And you _both_ knew?! And neither of you told us?!”

“Well things were just so much better before both of you knew, _right_ , Hyuck?” Renjun says as he kicks Donghyuck in the shin with both of his legs.

“Hey, stop kicking me!” Donghyuck yelps. “I’m not the one with this weird exhibitionism desk kink! Jaemin is! He has a perfectly fine desk in his own room he can–”

“Do _not_ kinkshame me, Donghyuck _Lee_ , I can’t believe you’re doing this to me on Thanksgiving!”

“Oh yeah? Well I can’t believe you think you’re Jeno’s bestest best friend when you use his desk for your kinky little Tinder dates whenever you forget to clean your desk!”

“You use my desk!?” Mark repeats incredulously as he turns to Renjun again. “That’s why neither you nor Donghyuck have desks?!”

“Oh my god, I cannot believe I’m literally seeing this with my own two eyes,” Yukhei says disbelievingly.

“In real time too,” Ten grins cheekily.

“Oh my god shut up, you’re just mad that I’m closer with Jeno than you are!” Jaemin yells.

“You are not!” Donghyuck huffs. “He was so scared of even telling you about the cass–”

Another hard kick in the shin promptly shuts Donghyuck up.

“Oh ho, are too! I spend more time with him than you ever do!” Jaemin sneers.

“I’m the one who went with him to get ice cream last week because you cancelled on him last minute to go to a cocktail party in Hollywood!”

“Hey, don’t knock that cocktail party!” Ten juts into the conversation. “It was definitely worth every single cocktail, because boy did I get a lot of–”

  
“DON’T FINISH THAT SENTENCE, TEN,” Kun says extremely loudly. “Don’t do it. Family-friendly, remember? Family-friendly.”

“Seriously, this is getting old you guys, I don’t want to keep kicking you in the shin,” Renjun retorts. “I think I’ve had enough of–”

“You know, this would never have started if you just didn’t have to be such a drama queen,” Jaemin starts again as he takes two sips of his mixed drink, the Bacardi burning his throat.

“Oh, _I’m_ the drama queen?” Donghyuck squares up as he takes three swigs of rosé. “Who’s the one who started this, again? Who was the theatre kid in high school? And who’s the one who won’t stop back talking at the dinner table while we have guests over, hmm?”

Jaemin angrily slams his hands on the table. “This is not backtalking! And you know it!”

“Oh yes it is, because that’s all you ever do!” Donghyuck yells back.

“It is not! Are you out of your mind?”

“No, but clearly you are, because in reality, if you actually thought about what you were saying before you spoke, you would NOT have a problem with getting us to do photoshoots for you!” Donghyuck finishes burningly as he clutches the bottle of rosé for dear life.

“Wait – you do photoshoots?! And you didn’t tell ME?!” Ten almost screams.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Jaemin replies with fiery ferocity. “You’re the one who tells me the photos I take aren’t good enough!”

Donghyuck grabs the whole bottle of rosé now. “No I don’t–”

“Yes, you do–”

“WHAT ARE WE THANKFUL FOR?!?!?!?!” Mark screeches in an ear-shattering high-pitched voice as he rapidly slams both of his hands on the kitchen table seven times.

The entirety of both tables turn to look at Mark. 

“Yes, what are we thankful for?” Renjun jokes.

“Well, I’m thankful for all this content that I’m about to post on TikTok and Insta,” Ten cackles satisfyingly as he ends the recording.

“Uh...so, can we eat now?” Yukhei asks, looking at his plate of popcorn and pretzels hungrily.

Yeri starts laughing extremely loudly, and now all of both tables turn to look at the sole girl at this Friendsgiving gathering.

“Why...why are you laughing, Yeri?” Mark asks.

Yeri takes about ten seconds to calm herself down before she finally talks. “Because, this just reminds me of the Thanksgivings I used to have as a kid growing up.”

“Really?” Jeno says. “This is what Thanksgiving is supposed to be like in America?”

“Well, it’s definitely never been this fun with my family before,” Yeri explains spiritedly, “because I’ve usually felt so miserable at family Thanksgivings, with my relatives fighting over politics, or aunts making passive-aggressive comments about everyone, or my mom always being stressed out about putting dinner on the table and cleaning the house before everyone got home.”

“But this is different?” Donghyuck wonders.

“Yeah, I mean, sure, it’s still just as dysfunctional but, I dunno…” Yeri smiles. “For me, at least, this has been really great, because we all get to be together and it’s not like we’re actually super mad at each other, and everyone’s been enjoying themselves.”

They all take a couple of seconds to process what Yeri says, and then each of them makes a different expression of enlightenment about what she just said.

“Anyways, to cap it off,” Yeri raises her paper cup for a toast, “I’m thankful that you guys have invited me over for Friendsgiving with the guys, and I get to spend it with my roommates, both old and new, and my friends, both old and new.”

“And cheers to that!” Jeno finishes happily as they all toast with their paper cups, mugs, juice boxes and assorted glass bottles of alcohol. “Even if I am going to throw my desk out this weekend and buy a new one before finals start.”

“And I’ll cheers to that again too, and to getting locks to put on our doors!” Mark raises his mug and clinks it against Jeno’s paper cup.

"Here's to a Crappy Christmas!" Renjun cajoles.

"And a trashy New Year!" Donghyuck and Jaemin sing together in unison.

_Friendsgiving: successfully completed!_

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this one-shot as a nice break, and if you are on Thanksgiving break, I hope you enjoy the rest of it! Thanks for reading, and as always, if you ever want to ask about anything set in the Loververse, feel free to ask me anything on [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/hugsy_penguin)!


End file.
